Nothing is more important than your kids, ever, and few if any moments with your kids (and wife) are as important as their births. If you don’t think that transcends everything else you’re on the planet for, think some more.

]]>By: Mr OK Jazz Tokyohttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75344
Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:42:51 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75344[29] There is absolutely no amount of money that can replace the experience of seeing your kids born. Would never work anywhere where they would make such a request, it shows they don’t care about human beings, only profit.

Also, baseball is a 162-game season! Missing 3 games is nothing.

]]>By: RIYankhttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75343
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 23:39:50 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75343[28] Uh, you emphasized that it’s a billion dollar business. I was just pointing out that this doesn’t distinguish baseball from any other industry.
You actually think that most other businesses don’t have meetings that cannot be rescheduled? That’s ridiculous, honestly. Even my business (not exactly high finance) has meetings that cannot be rescheduled, and if my wife went into labor, I would just miss one, and everybody would be fine with it. (And my skill is highly specialized — nobody can replace me at the meetings in question!)

Pitchers may get only 30 starts, but they can still get their 30 starts even if they attend the birth of their children — this is obvious. Pitchers miss games for a cold, it’s hardly a disaster.

]]>By: williamnyy23http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75342
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 23:14:32 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75342[27] In all honesty, if an employer offered you $20 million per year for 30 days of work, but required that you not miss time for anything less than physical incapacitation, would you really turn it down on that basis?
]]>By: williamnyy23http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75341
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 23:12:40 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75341[26] Most industries don’t have “games” that can’t be rescheduled and their financial success is not based upon contests. Also, employees in those companies usually aren’t limited to 30 days, nor are their skills specialized. There also aren’t rules in most other companies that limit the number of employees that can be retained as backup. There are so many differences between sports and the types of industries you mentioned that a comparison is futile.

If teams want to give players the discretion to miss games for family events, more power to them. I just don’t think it is an inherent right for athletes, or any highly paid person upon whom much is riding.

]]>By: Mr OK Jazz Tokyohttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75340
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 22:14:38 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75340I’d have had to have been arrested, shackled and sent to Gitmo to have missed my two being born. Can’t believe any editor would let that idiocy be published. There’s thousands of baseball games, maybe 3 or 4 times in your life you can witness childbirth.
]]>By: RIYankhttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75339
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 22:11:37 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75339[24] So what if it’s a billion dollar business? So is software. So are video games. But, as has been pointed out, nobody complains about programmers, advertising agents, etc., taking a day off from work.
If you’re arguing that it’s extremely expensive to, I dunno, somebody, for Mark Teixeira or Colby Lewis to take a day off, then I want to see the argument. (I’m very skeptical about this.)

Nobody said, by the way, that it is “vital” for a father to be present at childbirth. It isn’t vital. As Emma said, it’s a decision “that the player and his family should be allowed to make for themselves.”

Sandy Koufax, Sandy Koufax, and Sandy Koufax. Yuke and Braun let the angel of death fly over without smearing their uniforms with lamb’s blood. If he cares enough about the baby’s mother to attend the birth, my respect to him.

]]>By: williamnyy23http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75337
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:33:21 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75337[19] [21] It might only be a game to some, but it’s a billion dollar business to many others. The MLBPA has rightly argued that its players are essential to that business, but along with the fruits of that position come responsibilities. Simply portraying the issue as a game versus family obligations is much too simplistic.

I also find it a little bit ironic that so many people feel it is vital for a father to be present at child birth, but not child rearing. Athletes are notoriously absent from their children’s upbringing, but no one seems to think that reflects poorly on society. In fact, some segments of society don’t seem to think a father is necessary for child rearing at all.

]]>By: The Hawkhttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75336
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:20:17 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75336[22] the ol’ hit and run
]]>By: Just Fairhttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75335
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:13:44 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75335I find it far more important for the husband to be present during conception than the actual birth. ; )
]]>By: The Hawkhttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75334
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:01:03 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75334[19] Exactly. I really don’t see what is complex about this. Childbirth is a serious operation involving loved ones. Usually it’s also a very happy occasion and an incredibly rare one at that. I mean I really don’t even know how to debate this. It’s like, if you don’t already know, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s just fucking baseball, for the love of god. Pardon my french but holy smokes.
]]>By: Ken Arnesonhttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75333
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:32:28 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75333If the baby is at term, you can schedule the delivery to be induced on an off-day. And players often do just that. But sometimes, the baby doesn’t cooperate, and comes out early. And when it comes out early is the most important time for both parents to be there.
]]>By: nettleshttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75332
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:15:09 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75332It’s. A. Game. Pure entertainment for the masses. Nothing more. The world keeps right on turning if Lewis misses a start, or any other player for that matter. If we as a society place a higher value on someone playing a game than being present for the birth of a child, then the human race has officially gone to hell.
]]>By: rbjhttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75331
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:43:34 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75331I’m perfectly fine with a player leaving the team for childbirth.

A-Rod’s in the lineup.

]]>By: williamnyy23http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75330
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:37:59 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75330For starters, I definitely agree that both sides of the issue are reasonable, which was my same position in the BYU suspension story. Just because something offends your sensibilities, doesn’t make it inherently “ludicrous”.

It’s easy to say that the decision should be left to the player, but minimizes the significant commitment made by the team. As Neyer described, these athletes aren’t ordinary people doing ordinary jobs. A lot is riding on their peformance, not to mention their appearance. At some point, the concerns of the entire organization need to be taken into account.

Perhaps a compromise would be to allow players to take an unpaid family leave, although that really doesn’t address the team’s concerns. Whatever the case, I think this is a much more complex issue than many on either side seem to think.

]]>By: Ken Arnesonhttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75328
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:29:01 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75328There are really two issues here, as there are with many issues like this. One is whether the decision is right or wrong. The other is whose decision it is to make.

I’m pretty sure the decision is not best left in the hands of a sportswriter. And it especially does not belong in the hands of a sportswriter who thinks childbirth is as trivial an event as assembling a piece of IKEA furniture. As Bruce and Emma point out, things can go wrong.

My third child, despite a relatively eventless pregnancy, was born with fluid in her lungs. Of course, we did not know for sure that the problem was fluid in her lungs for about 24 hours, all we had was a single symptom: she was not getting the right amount of oxygen in her bloodstream. Fluid in the lungs was one possible cause, but it could also have been caused by a defective heart or a lung disease. If there was fluid in the lungs, she was at high risk of developing pneumonia. If there was a defective heart, we could be looking at surgery.

She turned out fine, but the point is, there are many decisions–some important, some trivial– that may have to be made in those first few hours of life, decisions that entail all sorts of complex risks and tradeoffs. If you’re not there when a decision needs to be made–especially if the baby is in the neonatal ICU and mom is asleep in a different room–someone else will make them for you.

The Mariners signed catcher/right fielder Angel Salome. Salome was a fairly well-regarded catching prospect as recently as a year ago, but he was removed from the Brewers’ 40-man roster last July after taking an extended leave for the birth of his child and requesting a switch to the outfield upon his return (Tom Haudricourt reporting for Baseball America).

[emphasis mine]

]]>By: Chyll Willhttp://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2011/04/20/paternity-test/#comment-75326
Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:55:45 +0000http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=53215#comment-75326[12] I feel the same way, but I’m beginning to sense that there really isn’t a lot out there to talk about anymore. Has the human race bored itself into submission? No offense, Emma; I feel you on the issue, but it wouldn’t be one if there wasn’t some nitwit out there who felt as though it was important enough to publish for whatever reason in the first place. A cursory glance at sites such as Yahoo! Front Page along with the comments section tells me we have bored ourselves with the constant race to be first with content (not even news) and reaction. Or at least that’s the way I see it…
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